Utility knife



Oct. 22, 1963 w. H. ROBINSON, JR 3,107,426

UTILITY KNIFE Filed March 22, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet l a lflZ/i 50 70 71:180 7; 66 82 5 36 'INVENTOR. I 96 WALTER H. ROBINSON,JR

A 7' TORNE Y8 Oct. 22, 1963 w. H. ROBINSON, JR 3,107,426

. UTILITY KNIFE Filed March 22. 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TOR.

WALTER H. ROBINSON ,JR.

United States Patent to The Stanley Works, New Britain, Conn., acorporation of Connecticut Filed Mar. 22, 1961, Ser. No. 97,622 6Claims. ({Il. 30-162) This invention relates to knives and moreparticularly to a utility knife in which the knife blade can beslideably moved between a safety position within the knife handle and anextended cutting position.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved utility knifeof the type described in which the knife blade can be readily installedand is thereafter rigidly supported in any adjusted position, and whichincorporates an improved blade adjustment means that is easily operatedfor extending, retracting and locking the knife blade in a selectedposition.

It is another object of this invention to provide a utility knife of thetype described which can be simply and economically constructed, whichhas a minimum number of parts and which can be easily assembled andoperated with safety and reliability.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a utility knife ofthe type described having a blade that can be economically manufacturedand easily sharpened and which can be conveniently mounted within theknife handle for slideably extending either end of the blade from thehandle.

Other objects will be in part obvious and in part pointed out more indetail hereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the feature of construction,combination of elements and arrangement of parts which wil beexemplified in the construction hereafter set forth and the scope of theapplication which will be indicated in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the utility knife ofthis invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation view of the utility knife of FIG. 1 with halfof the knife handle removed and the knife blade shown in phantom in thefully extended position;

FIG. 3 is a portion of the view of FIG. 2 with the blade shown in boldlines in a partially extended position;

FIG. 4 is a portion of the view of FIG. 2 with the blade shown in boldlines in a retracted or safety position;

FIG. 5 is a transverse cross section view taken substantialy along theline 55 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a side elevation view of the half of the knife handle removedin FIG. 2;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged transverse cross section view taken substantiallyalong the line 77 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary section view taken substantially alongthe line 88 of FIG. 3 with the knife I blade removed.

Referring to the drawings more in detail, the utility knife of thisinvention, generally denoted by the numeral 10, has an elongated handle12 composed of two handle members or halves 14, 16 that have contiguousperipheral faces 18 and 20 lying in a plane extending rearwardly from ablade-receiving slot opening 21. The handle half 14, as shown in FIG. 2,additionally has an outwardly extending flange or ridge 22 thatsurrounds a recess 24 adapted for storing extra blades 26, and whichextends within a similar storage recess 27 in the other handle half 16(FIG. 6) to prevent relative movement of the handle member when they areassembled and secured by a retaining screw 30. To provide a means forholding the utility knife when it is not in use, the hous- "ice inghalves 14, 16 are provided with aligned apertures 32, 34 that can beused to retain the knife upon a hook or the like or for receiving a ringor similar type fastening means.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 7, the knife blade 36 is supported forreciprocable movement within the handle 12 by a blade carrier 40 havinga base portion 41 slideably mounted upon elongated ridges or lands 42,44 and 46 that are preferably integrally cast with the handle half 14.Additionally, the carrier 40 has integral flanges 47, 48 and 50extending substantially perpendicular from the base and which areadapted to slidingly engage parallel shoulders 53 and 54 formed betweenthe peripheral face .18 and the lands 42 and 46, respectively. Theseflanges 47, 48 and 54 as seen in FIGS. 7 and 8, also extend Within thehandle member 16 for sliding engagement with similar parallel shoulders49, 51 formed thereon adjacent the peripheral face 20. To retain thecarrier 40 within the handle member 14, and to additionally assist incontrolling the sliding movement of the carrier 46 within the handle,the carrier is provided with an elongated upset outwardly extendingportion 52 that is adapted to slidingly engage the shoulder 55 formed bythe elongated land 44. The upset portion 52 additionally has anelongated slot 60 receiving a pin 62 that is fixed to the handle member14 and which has an enlarged head to retain the carrier upon the handlemember 14.

Extending rearwardly from and forming an integral extension of thecarrier flange 56 is an elongated locking ,tongue 64 that is adapted forflexible movement relative to the flange 5i and which is formed to causeit to resiliently bias or engage the locking cam surfaces or edges 66,68 on the housing members 14 and 16, respectively. To move the lockingtongue 64 away from the cam surfaces 66, 68 and against the resilientbias of the tongue 64, there is provided a button or operating member 70with a shank 72 both of which are slideably movable within the recesses74 and 76, respectively, in each handle member 14, 16 and which arefixed to the resilient looking tongue 64 by upsetting the end of theshank 72.

To adjustably lock the knife blade 36 against rearward movement from thefully extended position shown in phantom in FIG. 2, from the partiallyextended posi tion shown in FIG. 3, and from a safety or retractedposition shown in FIG. 4, the locking tongue 64 is provided With anupwardly and outwardly extending end 78 that is engageable withrearwardly tapered surfaces 86, 82 and 84 on the handle member 14 andsimilar tapered surfaces 86, $8 and 9% on the handle member 16 whichform portions of the cam edges 66, 63, respectively. By depressing thebutton 70, the end 78 of the locking tongue 64 is moved out ofengagement with the cam edges 66, 63 and the carrier 4% and its blade 36can be adjusted by sliding the button 70 within the recess 74 to adesired position. Releasing the button 70 allows re-engagement of thelocking tongue end 78 with the cam edges 66, 68.

When the blade is in the intermediate or partially extended positionshown in FIG. 3, the carrier 40 and its blade are prevented from beinginadvertently moved forwardly or outwardly by an abutment edge 92 on thehandle member 16, as the abutment edge :92 is adapted to engage anenlarged portion 94 on the locking tongue '64 when the carrier and bladeare in the partially retracted position; however, when the buttonisdepressed, the engagement between the enlarged portion 94 and theedge92 is released, and the carrier may be slideably positioned aspreviously described. When in the fully extended position, the carrieris prevented from'moving outwardly by an engagement between the forwardedge 95 (FIG. 2) of the carrier and a shoulder 97 on the handle member14.

The blade 36 is shown to be substantially flat with a lower cutting edge96 and inwardly tapered ends 98 and 160. The blade 36 is retained uponthe carrier 40 by an upset portion or tang 102 on the carriercooperating with a cutout portion 194 on the blade 36, and by the snugengagement of the upper and lower parallel edges of the blade 36 withthe carrier flanges 47, 48 and 50. As the handle members 14, 16 areeasily separated, the blade 36 is readily accessible and can be easilyremoved and replaced by merely lifting it from the carrier.Additionally, the blade 36 is constructed so that it can be convenientlyreversed for using the other end of the cutting edge 96, whereupon asecond cutout portion 106 is adapted to be engaged by the carrier upsetportion or tang 102. Of course, a greater number of blade cutoutportions could be provided for increasing the number of positions theblade could be installed upon the carrier, or only a single cutoutportion could be used for cooperating with the tang 102 when the bladeis in either of its reversed positions.

In order to securely retain the blade 36 and the carrier 40 within thehandle, two elongated lands 110 and 112 terminating in a connecting web114 are provided on the handle member 16, and a similar web 116 isprovided on the handle member 14, all of which are adapted to engage theblade surface and thereby laterally support the blade and carrier withinthe handle 12. Additionally, parallel shoulders 118 and 120 formed onthe handle member 14 between the peripheral face 18 and the web 116 areadapted to slidingly engage the parallel edges of the blade when it isextended for providing supporting bearing surfaces therefor.

It can be seen, therefore, that the utility knife of this invention hasa simple construction which can be economically manufactured usingwell-known mass production manufacturing processes including casting andstamping and which can be easily assembled and readily adjusted forsafely and reliably positioning the blade to a selected position.

As will be apparent to persons skilled in the art, various modificationsand adaptations of the structure above described will become readilyapparent without departure from the spirit and scope of the invention,the scope of which is defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A knife comprising; an elongated handle having a blade-receiving slotopening at one end thereof, said handle having two elongated membersdetachably secured and separable along a longitudinal plane extendingrearwardly from the slot opening, a carrier reciprocably mounted on oneof said elongated members for movement toward and away from said slotopening, said carrier having a base portion extending substantially in aplane parallel to said longitudinal plane and opposed side flangesextending in parallel directions from the base on one side thereof, theone elongated member having opposed elongated parallel extendingshoulder slidingly engaging said carrier flanges for supporting thecarrier for reciprocable movement on the said one elongated member, ablade supported on said carrier base and having parallel edges engagingthe said flanges, said opposed parallel flanges being configured toallow assembly of the blade on the carrier laterally of the direction ofmovement thereof when the two elongated members are separated, meansdetachably retaining the blade upon the carrier, said carrier havingintegrally therewith a rearwardly extending elongated tongue adapted forflexible resilient movement in said longitudinal plane, a locking camsurface on the handle defining a plurality of locking abutments that areselectively engageable by the flexible tongue for adjustably retainingthe carrier and blade in a selected position, a button fixed to saidtongue and adapted for manual engagement for flexibly moving the tongueout of engagement with the cam surface and for slidably reciprocatingthe carrier within the handle.

2. A knife comprising; an elongated handle having a blade-receiving slotopening at one end thereof, said handle having two elongated membersdetachably secured and separable along a longitudinal plane extendingrearwardly of the slot opening, a carrier reciprocably mounted on one ofsaid elongated members for movement toward and away from said slotopening, said carrier having a base portion and opposed side flangesextending in parallel directions from the base on one side thereof, theone elongated member having opposed elongated parallel extendingshoulders slidingly engaging said carrier flanges for supoprting thecarrier for reciprocable movement on the said one elongated member, saidcarrier further having an upset portion extending outwardly from thebase on the opposite side from the flanges, a carrier retaining elementfixed to said one elongated member, an elongated slot in said upsetportion slidably receiving said retaining element, said retainingelement having an enlarged head engaging the upset portion for retainingthe carrier upon the one elongated member, a blade supported on saidcarrier base and having parallel edges engaging the said flanges, meansdetachably retaining the blade upon the carrier, said carrier havingrearwardly extending therefrom an integral elongated tongue adapted forflexible movement in the said longitudinal plane, a locking cam surfaceon the handle defining a plurality of locking abutments that areselectively engageable by the flexible tongue for adjustably retainingthe carrier and blade in a selected position, an operating member fixedto said tongue and adapted for manual engagement for flexibly moving thetongue out of engagement with the cam surface and for reciprocating thecarrier within the handle.

3. A knife comprising; an elongated handle having a blade receiving slotopening at one end thereof, said handle comprising two elongated membersdetachably secured and separable along a longitudinal plane extendingrearwardly from the said slot opening, a carrier reciprocably mounted onone of said elongated members for movement toward and away from saidslot opening, said carrier having a base portion and two opposedparallel flanges extending substantially perpendicular from the base onone side therof, the one elongated member having opposed elongatedparallel shoulders slidingly engaging said carrier flanges forsupporting the carrier for reciprocable movement on the said oneelongated member, said carrier further having an upset portion extendingfrom the base on the opposite side from the flanges, a carrier retainingelement fixed to said one elongated member and an elongated slot in saidupset portion slidably receiving the retaining element, said retainingelement having an enlarged head engaging the upset portion for retainingthe carrier upon the one elongated member, a substantially flat bladesupported on said carrier base and having parallel edges engaging thesaid flanges, said blade having a cutout portion, said carrier having atang engaging said cutout portion for retaining the blade upon thecarrier, and manually adjustable means for selectively moving andlocking the carrier.

4. A knife comprising; an elongated handle having a slot opening at oneend thereof, said handle comprising two elongated handle membersseparable along an elongated plane extending rearwardly of the slotopening, a screw detachably securing said handle members, one of saidhandle members having a plurality of elongated lands and a pair ofparallel opposed elongated shoulders extending rearwardly of saidopening, a carrier having a base portion slideably mounted upon saidlands and having two opposed parallel flanges extending from one sidethereof and slideably engaging the said opposed shoulders, said baseportion having an elongated slot, a carrier retaining element fixed tothe one handle member and slidably received within the elongated slot,said retaining element having an enlarged end engaging said base portionfor retaining the carrier upon said one handle member, said carrierhaving an upset tang, a substantially fiat blade supported on said baseportion and having parallel edges engaging the carrier flanges forsupport thereby, said blade having a cutout portion receiving the upsettang for retaining the blade upon the carrier, said carrier having arearwardly extending integral tongue having resiliency in the saidelongated plane, a locking cam surface on the handle defining aplurality of locking abutments, said tongue having an upwardly turnedend resiliently biased into engagement with the cam surface for lockingthe oarrier against movement within the handle, a button fixed to saidtongue and adapted for manual actuation for releasing the engagement ofthe tongue with the cam surface and for moving the carrier within thehandle, the other handle member having an abutment adapted forengagement by an enlarged portion on the tongue when the tongue is inengagement with one of said locking abu-trnents for preventinginadvertent movement of the carrier toward the said opening, and anelongated land on said other handle member engaging the surface of theblade opposite the said carrier base portion for laterally retaining theblade on the carrier.

5. A blade holder comprising an elongated handle having ablade-receiving slot opening at one end thereof, said handle having twoelongated members detachably secured and separable along a longitudinalplane extending rearwardly of the slot opening, a blade carrierreciprocably mounted on one of said elongated members for movementtoward and away from said slot opening, said carrier having a baseextending substantially in a plane parallel to said longitudinal plane,said carrier further having an integral longitudinal flange extendingsubstantially perpendicular to the base for engaging the edge of a bladeto be mounted on the carrier, said integral flange further providing aresilient elongated portion extending rearwardly to provide a free endforming a resilient catch movable in said longitudinal plane, a lockingcam surface on the handle for engaging the catch provided by theelongated portion of the flange, said catch being inherently biased intoengagement with the cam surface by the resiliency thereof, and anoperating member fixed to said elongated portion and adapted for movingthe catch out of engagement with the locking cam surface and for movingthe carrier within the handle.

6. A knife comprising an elongated handle having a blade-receiving slotopening at one end thereof, said handle having two elongated membersdetachably secured and separable along a longitudinal plane extendingrearwardly of the slot opening, a carrier reciprocably mounted on one ofsaid elongated members for movement toward and away from said slotopening, said carrier having a base extending substantially in a planeparallel to said longitudinal plane, said carrier further having opposedlongitudinal side flanges extending in parallel directions from the baseon one side thereof, the elongated handle having opposed elongatedparallel extending shoulders slidingly engaging said carrier flanges forsupporting the carrier for reciprocable movement within said handle, ablade supported on said carrier base having parallel edges engaging thecarrier flanges, said carrier flanges being configured to allow removalof the blade from the carrier laterally of the direction of movementthereof when the two elongated members are separated, and a manuallyadjustable operating member adapted for moving the carrier within thehandle.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,291,514 Warner et a1. July 28, 1942 2,336,284 Nelson Dec. 7, 19432,632,244 Belsky Mar. 24, 1953 2,948,961 Ortner Aug. 16, 1960 3,063,147Paperelli Nov. 13, 1962

5. A BLADE HOLDER COMPRISING AN ELONGATED HANDLE HAVING ABLADE-RECEIVING SLOT OPENING AT ONE END THEREOF, SAID HANDLE HAVING TWOELONGATED MEMBERS DETACHABLY SECURED AND SEPARABLE ALONG A LONGITUDINALPLANE EXTENDING REARWARDLY OF THE SLOT OPENING, A BLADE CARRIERRECIPROCABLY MOUNTED ON ONE OF SAID ELONGATED MEMBERS FOR MOVEMENTTOWARD AND AWAY FROM SAID SLOT OPENING, SAID CARRIER HAVING A BASEEXTENDING SUBSTANTIALLY IN A PLANE PARALLEL TO SAID LONGITUDINAL PLANE,SAID CARRIER FURTHER HAVING AN INTEGRAL LONGITUDINAL FLANGE EXTENDINGSUBSTANTIALLY PERPENDICULAR TO THE BASE FOR ENGAGING THE EDGE OF A BLADETO BE MOUNTED ON THE CARRIER, SAID INTEGRAL FLANGE FURTHER PROVIDING ARESILIENT ELONGATED PORTION EXTENDING REARWARDLY TO PROVIDE A FREE ENDFORMING A RESILIENT CATCH MOVABLE IN SAID LONGITUDINAL PLANE, A LOCKINGCAM SURFACE ON THE HANDLE FOR ENGAGING THE CATCH PROVIDED BY THEELONGATED PORTION OF THE FLANGE , SAID CATCH BEING INHERENTLY BIASEDINTO ENGAGEMENT WITH THE CAM SURFACE BY THE RESILIENCY THEREOF, SAID ANOPERATING MEMBER FIXED TO SAID ELONGATED PORTION AND ADAPTED FOR MOVINGTHE CATCH OUT OF ENGAGEMENT WITH THE LOCKING CAM SURFACE AND FOR MOVINGTHE CARRIER WITHIN THE HANDLE.